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Bangor pub to be auctioned

The Whig & Courier pub and restaurant in Bangor. Owners Chris and Michelle Geaghan announced through the restaurant's website that after 26 years the "Whig" is closing for good. BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE

BANGOR, Maine — The Whig & Courier Pub and Restaurant, a financially struggling downtown establishment that has been trying desperately to secure funds to stay open, is now for sale by auction.

According to a listing by the Keenan Auction Co. of South Portland, the four-story building at 14 Broad St. in Bangor’s Haymarket Square, will be auctioned on July 21. The real estate, which includes four apartments, is being sold along with all restaurant equipment in what looks like the final chapter in the business’s 26-year history.

“It’s unfortunate we were not able to work things out,” said Richard Silver, an attorney representing owner Chris Geaghan. “I know Chris is still holding out hope, but it doesn’t look good.”

In late May, the Whig & Courier’s website indicated the business was closing because of financial difficulties. Geaghan said later that the closure announcement was premature and that he was working to secure funding to stay open.

Last week, the city of Bangor denied a request for funds to the Whig & Courier. The restaurant’s mortgage holder, Camden National Bank, also denied a request for more money. Chris and Michelle Geaghan filed for bankruptcy protection last year.

Silver said he didn’t know when the restaurant would officially close, but he expected it to be by the end of the month.

“We hope that a new operator would take over and keep it as a restaurant,” he said. “Chris has put a lot of work into making that what it was.”

According to its website, the original Whig & Courier opened in 1984 on Franklin Street. It was named after the Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, a city newspaper from the 19th and 20th centuries that once rivaled the Bangor Daily News.

In 1986, then-owner Steve Johnson moved the restaurant to 18 Broad St. next to the Charles Inn. The Geaghans bought the pub in 1997 and have operated it since.